Bullshit.

Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit.

Take a look . . .

Yes ladies and gentlemen, over the last 24 hours or so, this “Brantley Gilbert Makes $10.5 Million Donation to Toys For Tots” headline has been circulating like a bad venereal disease passed around after the drunken office Christmas party, spreading all across the complicit landscape of country music media without anyone questioning the accuracy or legitimacy of the claim that Brantley Gilbert and his big bag of nothing pulled out his stupid motorcycle wallet attached to 17 wallet chains, fished out $10.5 big ones, and gave them to Toys For Tots without any strings attached.

Well, of course it’s not true. It’s not even close to true. And the fact that so many outlets parroted the exact headline that Brantley Gilbert’s peeps sent to the media in a press release is just another sign why American journalism is going to complete and utter shit.

Let me explain something to you for a second. What is Brantley Gilbert’s net worth? How much money does he have on this planet? Well a very simple Google search comes up with the estimate of $10 million dollars, last calculated on October 30th, 2015.

Not bad, huh? Ol’ Brantley has done quite well for himself, especially with all those early songwriting royalties; “Dirt Road Anthem” and such. But do we really expect that Brantley Gilbert is going to make a donation to Toys For Tots so huge it will completely wipe out his entire net worth, and he’ll have to go in arrears half a mil just to make it happen? These headlines are total and utter dog shit. It’s a complete blindsiding of the American country music consumer, hoping they’re too stupid to question what exactly is going on here because it plays right into their warm and fuzzy feeling that their favorite country stars are these altruistic angels, when in truth they’re lying to the public on a regular basis.

Did Brantley Gilbert make a donation to Toys For Tots? Yes he did. How much was it? We don’t know, but if it was anywhere north of $500,000, or 5% of what these headlines claim, I’ll eat my hat. I remember when Taylor Swift made a $4 million donation to the Country Music Hall of Fame, and how the size of it left all of our mouths agape. And we’re led to believe that Brantley Gilbert, Brantley Gilbert made a donation nearly 3 times this size to Toys For Tots? This would be one of the biggest celebrity donations in history.

So what is really behind this massive, “$10.5 million” donation to Toys For Tots? I’ll tell you what. There’s a children’s book company called Bendon Inc., okay? And every year, just like many large companies have to do, they needed to move dead or slow-moving stock before the end of the year or they would be forced to pay taxes on it. So they offloaded $10.5 million in retail-priced dead or slow-moving inventory to Toys For Tots, and partnered with Brantley Gilbert so they would have a celebrity name to catch headlines as part of the ruse, and meanwhile both Brantley Gilbert and Bendon Inc. can use the expenditure as a tax write-off, and end up saving just as much money as they’re giving, while using the entire operation as a publicity stunt.

At no point did $10.5 million freaking dollars change hands, unlike what every single headline above and many more across the country music internet say. There may have not even been $1 million dollars that changed hands at any point. This was Bendon Inc. wanting to free up some warehouse space. And as for that “$10.5 million” valuation? You remember back to elementary school, or perhaps when your elementary-aged kids today tell you they have a “book carnival” or “book festival” at school, and shake you down for Benjamins before hopping on the bus? Have you seen the completely bloated sticker price on the back of those books when they bring them home? Many of these children’s books companies use public, governmental, not-for-profit institutions as revenue beds for their for-profit schemes.

Hey, hell of a job by Bendon Inc. and Brantley Gilbert for taking excess inventory and giving it to kids in need. I understand that in the end maybe they were just trying to do something good. And make no mistake, reading is probably something that a lot of Brantley Gilbert fans, and their kids could benefit from, especially after seeing how these headlines were splashed across the internet without anyone questioning their validity. But celebrity donations these days are becoming nothing more that public sentiment shields, publicity vehicles, and tax shelters, and since the entirety of traditional media has been replaced by bad Buzzfeed knockoffs and interns, bad headlines like “Brantley Gilbert Makes $10.5 Million Donation to Toys For Tots” can spread across the internet unabated.

Good on Bendon Inc. and Brantley Gilbert for donating to Toys For Tots. But don’t screw it all up by jerking the public off to grab some misleading Holiday headlines.

I agree, and it’s the American tax system that’s to blame. Taxpayers are pretty much forced to play this game, especially the wealthier you are. But the brazenness of trying to pass of what Gilbert did as a $10.5 million donation takes the Holiday pound cake.

It’s incredible what can be passed off as a headline. I saw your tweet and immediately thought, before reading your post, this donation would result in Brantley donating all of his assets to charity. Very noble…

This is a long conversation and I agree that it’s a cynical view. How cynical is up for debate. Probably not the right conversation to have on this website but I’ll link an article that attempts to explain the nature of charity.

Apparently the article is subscription only and mine expired a while ago. Certainly any good deed can be done for ulterior motives, but for example yesterday while leaving a store, the Boy Scouts had a gift wrap station and were taking donations. The fellow in front of me slapped a $10 or $20 on the table and the Scouts asked him if he wanted his gift wrapped. The man said “No, just keep the money” and walked away. He never looked back to see if anyone was watching and didn’t stick around long enough for a thank you. He seemed to be doing it entirely for himself.

I think that’s the way the majority of giving is done, whether it’s from the church pew or in the Salvation Army bucket. It’s done privately and quietly.

I think a lot of these studies are done by people who are missing something (like charity) that everyone else has and trying to figure why or how people are doing it. I remember one study by a fellow (apparently pointy headed) who was trying to figure out how baseball outfielders figured out where to be to catch the ball. He said players subconsciously were calculating head angles and speed and direction so the angle would diminish at an appropriate rate, or some such gibberish. It was clear to me he had never actually caught a ball on the fly.

Looking at the title of the Economist article it looks like we are talking about 2 different things. Blatant benevolence and conspicuous consumption would be what happened here in the Brantley story or things like the Zuckerburg Foundation. What I’m talking about is the quiet benevolence and inconspicuous consumption.

So after all my gibberish, I would agree with you that this Brantley story is blatant benevolence and conspicuous consumption. Sorry about that.

I understand the specifics on this very well and how you are clearing it up.
I am not a huge Brantley Gilbert fan, I do like his first album and I like some album cuts off of his 2 mainstream releases. I really like ‘Saving Amy”. Nonetheless I believe him to actually be a genuine guy.
This guy does many things for the military and gives back quite a bit. More than most in the industry I would add. PR people have blown this out of proportion. He is doing something positive and should be commended. Merry Christmas everyone!

This has nothing to do with Brantley Gilbert’s music. Hell, this may not have anything to do with Brantley Gilbert. Who knows what publicist drunk on eggnog schemed up this headline for the press release and thought they could get away with it. I’m sure the folks at the publicity agency were all giving themselves high fives for how they took a book company offloading some overstock, and made it into one of the biggest celebrity donations in history. Oprah Winfrey, eat your heart out. Brantley may have not even known about it.

Even accounting for the level of cynicism among the major players n contemporary country these days—and the tendency of big country media to accept whatever they’re fed without asking questions—this scam is remarkable.

I think the press release does a good job of explaining that they are “partnering” together – it is not as if either Brantley or the company are opening their wallets and taking out $10.5 mil. While it IS an amazingly generous act for this company to make this donation and Brantley to partner with them and bring more attention to Toys for Tots, its really surprising to see how many other news outlets and blogs ran with it as if they really think he is donating $10.5 mil in cash himself.

As somebody who owns and operates a country music website, I can vouch for the fact that for as many people who will read the headline of this story and will “like” it and share it on Facebook, roughly 20% of the people will actually read the story itself, and try and understand the facts surrounding the donation. It’s ironic this entire thing surrounds a bid to promote literacy when media and the value of the written word are under assault like never before in 2015. But even then, this $10.5 million figure is ridiculous. If they’re going to put a number out there like that, it must be loaded up with qualifiers.

Hey, props to Brantley Gilbert’s peeps for getting outlets to parrot their sensational headline. That’s the job of publicists, to get their version of news out to the public. It’s the job of the media outlets to digest that news, independently verify it, offer perspective or a counterpoint if necessary, and then post their own independent version. In this case, they simply cut and pasted the headline from the press release without questioning it one bit.

On my way in to work this morning, I heard them mention this on the main Boston country station. They first mentioned Lee Brice donating $20,000 to his hometown to help with recent floods. Then said “not to LESSEN what Lee Brice has done, but Brantley Gilbert donated $10.5 mil to Toys for Tots!”… I almost wanted to call them up and point out that Brantley Gilbert did NOT donate that much in cash considering he isn’t even WORTH that much money, and what Lee Brice did is most likely actually MORE than Brantley – figuring that the $20,000 probably REALLY came out of his own personal pocket. Pretty sad and pathetic that they’re taking misleading headlines about one celebrity to lessen the very generous (and probably more sincere) act of another. Now, Lee Brice looks cheap, and Brantley Gilbert looks like a hero when all he did was attach his name to what is probably just a marketing campaign.

You comment is the key to this entire thing. Lee Brice gave $20,000. That’s 2% of what they’re saying Brantley Gilbert gave. It looks like a popcorn fart beside Brantley’s gargantuan donation, which would be nearly three times bigger than any donation ever made by a country music artist in history. And especially in the quick hit environment of radio, people just hear the news, and accept it. Look at how many of the headlines above are coming from radio stations.

Saying Brantley Gilbert gave $10.5 million erodes the entire spirit of charity. It diminishes everyone else’s contributions as minuscule. Not just country music people, but anyone who cares about charity should be frothing mad about this ploy.

Just another example that of someone doing something more meaningful – just happens that its Lee Brice again (not sure if outside links are allowed??) – http://raynham.wickedlocal.com/article/20160120/NEWS/160115988 This is a local story, and will make a real, direct impact on someone’s life. However, yesterday, Boston radio was STILL bragging about how Brantley Gilbert donated $10.5 million dollars. Paul Monti’s home recently caught on fire. He is the man that “I Drive Your Truck” was written about. Lee Brice is fundraising to help him. And Boston radio was STILL bragging about Brantley. WTF?

I read “warm and fuzzy feelings” up there and had to double check to make sure it wasn’t about me.

As long as the books were quality ones that do some kids a lot of good, maybe some biographies on the founding fathers or past world leaders or something, then who cares whose name is splashed all over it?

I don’t think a decent history text-book has been published since Miley Cyrus behaved like a normal person…

Trigger,
I’m no fan of Brantley “insta-jacked” Gilbert, but holy hell are you a picky, petty bastard!
one would be hard pressed to find a recent article that isn’t written with the purpose of arguing someone is stupid because they aren’t as good as you.
It gets old sometimes.

“one would be hard pressed to find a recent article that isn”™t written with the purpose of arguing someone is stupid because they aren”™t as good as you.”

I suggest you click on the “Home” page and dig some then.

So it’s “petty” to refute a dozen headlines in some of country music’s biggest periodicals claiming Brantley Gilbert gave $10.5 millions dollars to Toys For Tots when he did no such thing? I would say it would be a repudiation of my own ethics if I had NOT published a rebuttal.

Let me tell you something (though I’m sure you won’t believe it): When I first saw this headline on another country music site, I was so floored by the size of the Gilbert donation, I felt I had no other choice but to post an article of my own, and use it as a way to set aside musical differences in the spirit of the Holiday. It’s when I started digging through the details that it became clear the entire thing was bullshit.

Yes, I’m pretty damn “picky” when it comes to facts, and lying to the public.

I read most of your articles. Most are dripping with sarcasm and written in such a passive aggressive manner that you probably don’t even realize how rude and arrogant you come across at times. You can take your suggestion and direct it at someone who Doesn’t frequent SCM. My opinions of you are based on years worth of reading most everything you write.
Most of my comments are never replied to; I’ve sent you several personal emails, they’ve never received a response. Of course you jump all over a critical comment.
It isn’t petty to refute a lie, if you know someone is lying. You admit you don’t know shit about Gilbert’s contribution in your own article. You base your entire rebuttal on his reported net worth and what you think he can afford to give. Damn right; that’s petty. Gilbert’s time is worth something, as is his celebrity which is being used to bring in more contributions and awareness for Tots, which is an amazing program by the way. How is that a bad thing? Furthermore, how is it Gilbert’s fault that the media is chock full of morons who spew forth literary diarrhea with reckless abandon?
Why address me by saying ” though I’m sure you won’t believe it”? You aren’t sure of anything, because you don’t know, you just assume that I’m so closed-minded as not to listen to an opposing argument. If you say you were going to write about it positively and then came across other info, I believe it. It’s the way you present the other info that is ridiculously petty, and frankly, borderline libelous.
You’re the same dude who matter of factly stated that homicide means a crime involving a firearm, though, so forgive me if I don’t put much stock in your knowledge of issues not related to music.
Im surprised you got so riled up at me. Usually you’re really calm when someone challenges your articles on the comment section. I must’ve hit a nerve.
Merry Christmas.

I don’t like some of the sarcasm and passive aggressiveness in general either (ie the BG fans literacy comment in this article), but its his blog, not the NY Times. There’s great content on this site daily, for free, its not our place to tell him how to run it.

I appreciate you reading my site, and I appreciate you commenting on my site. I also appreciate the concern you showed for how I conduct my business in your comment. But in the first sentence of your initial comment, you called me a “picky, petty bastard! . I’ve got plenty of thick skin so don’t worry about me. But let’s be honest about who jumped down who’s throat first. I know you’ve been reading SCM for a long time, but I feel like the characterization that most of what I do is passive aggressive and laden with sarcasm is inaccurate. Most of what I do is write boring album reviews that few people read. Then I post something like this and it goes viral, and that’s all that folks think I do because it gets liked, shared, and commented on.

“Most are dripping with sarcasm and written in such a passive aggressive manner that you probably don”™t even realize how rude and arrogant you come across at times.”

Excuse me but I’m patently aware of how rude and arrogant I come across. It’s not that I want to be perceived as rude or arrogant. I start writing, and whatever comes out is what gets published. The reason I took the tone that I did with this story is because the assertion that Brantley Gilbert gave $10.5 million dollars to Toys For Tots, and then that virtually every major country music outlet would turn around and parrot that information, boils my blood to no end. The only way I knew how to challenge the absurdity of it all was to be absurd and outrageous myself. Then possibly someone might actually pay attention to how ridiculous the notion of Brantley Gilbert’s donation is.

“You admit you don”™t know shit about Gilbert”™s contribution in your own article. You base your entire rebuttal on his reported net worth and what you think he can afford to give.”

“You”™re the same dude who matter of factly stated that homicide means a crime involving a firearm.”

I have no clue what you’re talking about.

Lastly, I sincerely apologize if you sent me private emails, and for whatever reason, I didn’t respond. You have no clue the crush of emails I receive, and I actually work extremely damn hard to respond or at least personally acknowledge every single one of them. I take 14 to 16 hours every weekend simply to go through emails and music submissions. Sometimes, for some reason, things get lost in the shuffle, when you’re going through hundreds of emails, that can happen. I always encourage folks to reach out through the site’s “Contact” forum, not through Facebook or some old email address they may have. I literally answer hundreds of emails every week. If you sent me something and I didn’t respond, I encourage you to re-send it. I value everyone’s readership and feedback, especially the negative feedback, whether in comment or email form. If I didn’t I would never respond.

I’ll just agree to disagree on the pettiness of some of this article, Trigger.
“Picky, petty bastard” is something I figured you’d giggle at and probably agree with.
It’s your site, do with it what you will. I was just expressing my opinion as you encourage your readers to do.
I’ll send you another message via “contact”, as I’ve done before.

Bobsled, Today’s Country music and moreover the country music industry is a cesspool of corporate fucks that are only interested in making the quickest buck. They don’t give a shit about the quality of music, the fans, the songwriters, the artists, or the musicians. I applaud Trigger’s sarcasm and talent for rudely admonishing the stupid. They really deserve anything cast upon them. I don’t always agree with Trigger as I’m sure we all have different tastes but I am thankful that he has given the downtrodden and the underdogs a voice. And some of those corporate frat boys here on music row are paying attention, including Eric(fabricated outlaw)Church. I like to think of this website as the “Occupy Country Music” protest. I’d hate to have a polite protest. Have you been paying attention to what has been done to country music? I say be rude Trigger… be fucking rude. Give ’em hell boy!

It is okay if you are a Brantley Gilbert fan. His music sucks. His wallet chain sucks. His image is comical. He makes most people on this site skin crawl. Trigger reported that BG in fact did not donate 10.5 million. Which is true. I am glad BG is giving back. That is great, but his contribution was not 10.5 million.

I’m not a BG fan where his music is concerned. I think Toys for Tots is a noble cause and the denigration of his contribution, and the mentions of his net worth, were unnecessary and petty. If this article is about shoddy journalism, the content thereof needn’t drag down the contributor.
But hey, we all have different opinions, and I was simply expressing mine. I’ve expressed plenty of positive ones towards trigger in the past, and I’m sure I will in the future.
Merry Christmas.

Honestly, it is hard to believe that you were contemplating doing a piece on Brantley that was even remotely positive. You go pretty far out of your way to take cheap shots at him often. Remember Jana’s single review? It was unnecessary, but you took the time to make a jab at him when referencing their past relationship. The first article I saw posted about this, the Boot, was pretty thorough in explaining his partnership with Bendon. Obviously this story has gotten out of hand and needed some clarification, but I don’t think it warrants you taking this as an opportunity to try and diminish Brantley’s character even more.

The Boot was one of the few outlets who actually read the press release and represented the content in a fair manner.

Every fan of every artist that I criticize claims that it’s because of bias and that I would never say anything positive about them. But the simple fact is it isn’t true. I try to find things to criticize about artists I think are near flawless, and I try to find the good in artists that I think are otherwise not very good. Take what I said about Brantley Gilbert in this article as an example:

“Brantley Gilbert might be the best example of an artist who releases the most vile detritus as singles, but when you actually listen to his records, you are surprised to find songs that are not just serious and sincere, but that are downright powerful. Gilbert is the mainstream artist with a grassroots following. He”™s one of the few mainstream artists left who can sell albums, primarily because his ultra-loyal fans know there are going to be some really deep songs there that the radio will never play. These songs are one of the reasons his fan base seems to be ready to jump off a cliff for him if he ordered it, and will argue for days how great he is.

“There are also a couple of tracks that show a lot of substance and heart, and even capture Brantley breaking away from his mumbling singing style. “That Was Us” starts out feeling like you”™re average four minute laundry list pablum, but it reveals itself as a waltz-timed memory trip that includes moments of vulnerability and even self-effacing honesty. “I”™m Gone” is another one from Just As I Am that is driven by mandolin and steel guitar, and aside from a Richie Sambora guitar wank-off bisecting the song, it”™s a good reminder that Brantley Gilbert is a songwriter that writes his own stuff, and can write in story form with very strong results.”

“The Boot was one of the few outlets who actually read the press release and represented the content in a fair manner.”

Wait, so you’re saying that the press release was actually correct?
Because you had been claiming that Brantley’s publicist put out a release saying he
donated 10.5 million dollars. I read the release and it said no such thing.

So what do you? YOU make up a sensationalist headline in order to trump up your
agenda and you use Brantley as your fall guy. Exactly what you’re accusing him of doing. This is the same (and ONLY) country music artist who stepped up for the fallen soldiers in Chattanooga and organized a concert that raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the families. Did you write about that? No of course not.

Your act is old and predictable. How about this “a lot of kids got presents this year that otherwise would not have. Not a fan of his music, but it sure was nice of Brantley Gilbert to partner with a toy company and use his military connections to make sure it happened. More people should follow his lead”. End of story”¦but i guess that wouldn’t get people flocking to your site.

This is the headline from the press release: “Brantley Gilbert Makes $10.5 Million Donation to Toys For Tots” Brantley Gilbert did no such thing. I used the information from the press release to deduce this. I explained all of this in the article and in subsequent comments. Get up to speed here Mick.

There are now probably close to 40 websites you can find all across the internet with that EXACT headline, verbatim, with no changes, no qualifiers, taken from the press release. Say that I am the one who made it up and see how far that gets you. Y’all are tying yourselves up in knots at this point trying to justify this.

It was a mistake by the Brantley Gilbert camp and Bendon. Offer a correction and let’s move on.

Trig, is this misconception more on the Bendon Inc (and maybe Gilbert) for contacting publicists and trying to market the donation to as many people as they can, or on the journalists who clearly used a sensationalist headline? I would think more on the latter but you probably have a much better guess than I do.

It sounds like this kind of thing happens a lot (which is fine), but rarely do headlines misconstrue the story this poorly.

In the end, this is the fault of the media outlets who ran with the headline crafted by Brantley Gilbert publicists without questioning either its validity, or its accuracy to the information. It is the job of publicists to make their celebrity clients look the best they can in the public to hopefully gain more fans. It is the job of the media to question everything, verify if at all possible, and offer both sides of the story if there is one.

However in this case, the premise of the headline was so ridiculous, if Brantley Gilbert’s camp receives blowback, they probably deserve it. The “$10.5 million” donation needed to be qualified. “Brantley Gilbert Makes $10.5 Million Donation to Toys For Tots” is a completely inaccurate statement.

Who did you check your facts with? Did you contact Toys For Tots? Did you contact Bendon? You clearly did NO checking! You made your own facts. Why would anyone ever visit your page again. I can 100% confirm this was a legit donation made to Toys For Tots from Brantley and Bendon. I’m Ben Ferguson; the CEO of Bendon. The only reason I visited your sight is the fact that many of our hard working employees contacted me in outrage to your lies. You ought to be very ashamed. Your visitors should be extremely upset that you have lied to them.

It is a fact that the phrase “Brantley Gilbert Makes $10.5 Million Donation to Toys For Tots” is misleading at best, and a lie at worst. It is a fact that Brantley Gilbert did not take $10.5 million dollars and donate it to anyone. Yet that is the exact headline you can find now on 16 or 17 separate country music websites, and is the sensational headline that has been read to millions of country music listeners on radio. How do I know for a fact that Brantley Gilbert did not donate $10.5 million dollars to Toys For Tots? Because I actually read the press release, and the press release itself clearly states that it was books that were donated, not money. It was $10.5 million dollars worth of books that were donated. Is Brantley Gilbert in the business of publishing books? Does he have $10.5 million dollars of books that he owns to donate to Toys For Tots? Of course he doesn’t. So the title of those stories is not factual, and was specifically meant to mislead peoplefrom the actual nature of the donation made to Toys For Tots.

If someone wants to email me, and tell me the actual dollar amount that Brantley Gilbert donated to Toys For Tots, I would love to include that in this story, or in a new story. If someone from Bendon Books wants to release a statement about this, I would be more than happy to run it. But none of that will change the fact that the title of these stories was purposely sensationalized to make the nature of Brantley Gilbert’s donation look bigger than it actually was.

Any time anyone gives of their time, money, or property to prop up charity, it should be commended. And I commend Brantley and Bendon for donating whatever they did to Toys For Tots. But portraying that Brantley Gilbert made the biggest donation ever by a country star by some three fold was out of bounds, and unfortunately has sullied the otherwise generous deed. Bendon and Brantley Gilbert should be angry at the headline writer, not me.

Nobody is debating that there has been a donation. Nobody is debating it was a good donation. But the statement on all of these articles is not true. They changed it around. Also, you need to check your grammar. On this, and the comment below.

I call BS!
If this is the real Ben, then you would not have posted here; you have people that would have released a statement through Bendon clarifying the donation and generating publicity for Bendon.
So, please clarify the donation through your company’s press release.

No. In fact Taste of Country, which is Townsquare, ran with the press release headline, while The Boot, which is also Townsquare, went with the headline, “Brantley Gilbert Helps Make Huge Donation to Toys for Tots.” Some of the headlines may be syndicated, but since I’ve posted this story, even more of the exact same headlines have popped up, including from independently-owned blogs and sites.

I really don’t want to be the big mean guy here. Some of the outlets that posted this story do some good work. But I’m not sure what other choice I had.

Great catch, I bet Brenda is pissed. How did we get here herded around from TV screen to computer screen, never questioning the bombardment of mediocre entertainment and complete misinformation? They roll out a dancing monkey, when the masses start to get bored with that they put a hat and sunglasses on him and tell you he is a different monkey ,(Eric, Jason A., Chris stapletron), if that don’t work they change the dance and give him a haircut ha-ha. I hate country made terrible cmt, great American cowards gac. Watched a video with hipster in plastic sunglasses and fedora singing “I love country, I love dirt roads, I love the record company” man what a $&$##**%%$#$$#%#%. The music video to jon wolf song where he rides around with a stripper on a beach and plays a guitar with a capo because he doesn’t have the skill to get past the fourth fret. Brantley Gilbert was never cool he was just a dude who spends all his time trying to figure out what is cool so he can imitate it. Hopefully, he get s a tax evasion charge, but then he would probably steal Willie’s IRS tapes idea. BRING DOWN THE SYSTEM!!!!!!! Make fun of everyone you know who listens to these clowns, don’t buy their records watch their videos and plaster the truth about how much they suck on every website especially cmt and their own personal sites then they will get the message.

No-talent douchebags can throw on a ball cap and rap about beer and trucks and immediately get a string of #1 hits, their faces plastered on numerous magazines, and become millionaires, while the most talented musicians are shrouded in obscurity. Nobody wants to see talent anymore, and Heaven forbid you dig deep. If ya wanna make big bucks and be famous, ya better sing the most horrible and non-country music you can possibly find. How can “country” radio people EVER say something is “too country?” Isn’t it called country music? If it’s called country, that means it’s supposed to be country and can’t possibly be “too” country. They admit to people all the time that country radio and media aren’t country, but nobody pays attention or cares. Few people ever stop to stop to think whether something has anything to do with country or not. Sorry, I got sidetracked.

While most everyone else is focused on the quantity of what was actually donated, I thought I’d raise another question (and by no means diminishing the good of this effort, regardless of context).

Can Toys For Tots even be considered a charity?

I know it BEGAN as one nearly 70 years ago. But in its current incarnation, isn’t it essentially a program that is run by the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, under the auspices of the US Marine Corps Reserve?

The Foundation, in itself, would be classified as a charitable organization. But if it’s essentially an arm of the U.S. Marine Corps, is it ethical at that point to classify this effort as actual charity?

Again, I applaud the immense good that is being done either way. I just thought, as long as we’re keeping the press honest about facts and figures, we should also keep honest what falls under the line of “charity”.

Best thing about this article it uses some type of internet bs when it comes to someones net worth..i can honestly say the celebrity net worth site are not even close. Nice try ass clown…and the kids that are receiving something that normally might not of could careless….talk about envy….

Brantley Gilbert’s net worth is inconsequential. It was only offered as an illustration to show how absurd the idea is that he would be in a position to make a $10 million dollar donation. And the fact that disputing his net worth is what some are using to defend Brantley proves that the misleading headlines about Brantley’s donation worked. If you actually read the stories, it was books that were donated, not money. Brantley Gilbert could be worth $100 million or $1 billion. It doesn’t change that fact that Brantley didn’t make a $10.5 million dollar donation.

I think it’s pretty clear I have a problem with Toys For Tots, The Marines, The military, America, Christmas, children, puppies, and everything else that is just and right in the world. And I would go ahead and assume all of this based off of this article and my subsequent comments.

Based on your article your a punk your ripping someone involved with charity the marines and tots for tots..your a nothing. Get a hobby get a girl…learn how to change the dial in the car to a station you like it a little knob turn it up or down it changes the station. Oh be a big boy and get Sirius radio…country music is there on willies roadhouse and outlaw country..support the artists like cody jinks and others that way on those stations country needs no saving its fine and well

I few people have tried to post the link you posted. I am not going to allow it through because it links to a spam site. Regardless, Brantley Gilbert’s net worth is inconsequential. I only mentioned it as an illustration of how ridiculous the number assigned to Brantley Gilbert’s donation was. His net worth could be $100 million. He still didn’t make a $10.5 million dollar donation. At the fact that some people think he did proves how the ruse of the press release title worked. If you actually read the story, nobody is saying Brantley Gilbert actually donated $10.5 million dollars. Books were donated on his behalf.

First of all, I realize I shouldn’t even humor your vicious attacks for somebody doing something positive; but I will. You have no idea what you are talking about and for anyone to believe anything you have written above would be wreckless. Brantley and Bendon did something pretty damn nice for hundreds of thousands of children. Contact anyone at the Toys For Tots headquarters in Washington DC; or of course anyone at Bendon, Inc. There clearly is a disconnect when someone does something hugely positive for children around Christmas and you chose to try to diminish their actions and ridicule them. Tell me; what have you donated this year? Very sad that you have somehow found yourself a platform to be so hateful. Merry Christmas

Amen to you Ben. This writer is obviously a selfish, jealous, and hateful being very unhappy with their life. So glad you said what you did. Way to go. This writer needs to calm down and write in a professional manner first and foremost to gain any form of credibility and furthermore not overly knock down generous souls like Brantley. I think their Christmas will be anything but merry.

I can’t believe you would partner up with an obvious devil worshipper like Brantley Gilbert. You do know that he is an avid devil worshipper don’t you? You have seen him throw up the horns haven’t you? Think of the kids and their impressionable sensibilities you animal.

Trigger is an asshole. He even admits that. He’s also one of the view journalists who will speak out about what a corrupt system corporate “country” is and how it is not actually “country” at all. He raises awareness of the fact that all popular music is turning into one big monogenre where everything sounds the same. It’s easy to see that is becoming true. There are no clear distinctions between genres anymore. When there no variety in music, that’s a problem. Also, at least Trigger says what he really thinks, not what somebody pays him to say. He also points out the artists that aren’t getting much attention but are far better than the generic puppets Nashville shoves down our throats. If country music finally stops being stupid tailgate party crap and sounds like country again, Trigger will be partially responsible. The good Trigger does far outweighs the bad, but the bad is the only thing that goes viral. I don’t care if you don’t care, but I support Trigger. Plus, his rants are hilarious!

Let’s all appreciate that we don’t know if this is the actual “Ben Ferguson.” I would hope the President of a publishing company, especially one who makes children’s books would average less than two typos per comment.

“Tell me; what have you donated this year?”. Self righteous much? Charitable giving shouldn’t be a competition. There’s nothing wrong with wanting recognition for your good deeds but anytime a donation of this nature is made, some questions will be raised. Hell, if Brantley Gilbert wasnt involved there probably wouldnt have been much scrutiny. Your company used someone else’s celebrity for attention and you got it, just not all of it was positive.

I find it ridiculous that any of you would even talk down to any person or company/celebrity that is trying to give to children at Christmas. Who gives a rats ass what the hell you think. Social media is never far north true in most cases. Hell half you stupid ass journalist Andre just as bad as paparazzi now days. No way anyone of you have means to know how much Brantley Gilbert is worth or what he has made. Way to go on crushing a child’s Christmas. Kudos to you and whom ever continues to down the book company and Brantley Gilbert for giving to children at Christmas. Smh

Don’t think any child’s Christmas is ruined because of a cynical report on what happened behind the scenes. It’s great that kids will be receiving free books that they otherwise might not have been able to afford. It’s the sensational press coverage that is under attack, not the kids.
After reading the self righteous defense from the CEO it seems he’s a little flustered because someone caught them trying to butter up their noble gesture a little too much.
As for Brantley Gilbert, I think it would mean a little more if he donated to public libraries and help them continue bookmobile programs and such and maybe on occasion a public reading to kids, time means more than money to many.

That don’t give you the rite to down anyone and make inappropriate comments. Keep to your self because of one that is kind would care what the hell you think. Thanks for pointing out my spelling. Stupid ass!
I was at work and on my phone tryin to reply because half the garbage on this subject is bull shit. You must not have a soul. Praying for someone like you would be a waist of time.

That is a word for word headline on an article posted to Facebook (by Cody Alan of CMT) that has nearly 15k shares right now. The article, in its entirety, reads:

“For Brantley Gilbert, it”™s better to give than to receive.

The country superstar has partnered with Bendon, a company that makes products for children”™s activities, to make a joint donation of $10.5 million to the Marines Corps”™ Toys for Tots.

“Growing up in rural Georgia, I know that sometimes Christmas isn”™t a time of joy for some kids,” Brantley says. “Our contribution might be all they receive this year, so I really wanted our donation to matter.”

According to reports, the gift of $10.5 million is one of the largest ever received by the program.

Brantley is currently on a holiday break. He”™ll return to the road for The Blackout Tour, beginning in late January.”

This is exactly why we need sites like Saving Country Music. Someone has to be willing to call BS, dig a little deeper, and provide accurate, detailed information. I guarantee there are millions of people out there right now who believe Brantley personally donated $10.5 million.

It’s not a personal attack on Brantley, it’s holding these media outlets accountable for what they publish.

I support Trigger 100%. I lived in Trashville for several years and know exactly what kind of lying, posing and posturing goes on in that Soddom and Gomorrah on a daily basis. Kudos to Trigger for having the cajones to expose the truth… again.

I’m just hoping that when Brantley Dilbert tires of his Halloween costume he donates his cheesy jewelry to some other poseur… Eric Churchlady perhaps?

If you wanna link something really great check Hunter S Thompsons quote about the music industry.

Every article I read said he teamed up with Bendon. Where is the cover up? You can’t be happy, at Christmas time, the time of giving, that someone did something unselfish for others?? OK, let’s say he only contributed $1,000. How much did you contribute to others there “Tigger?” Bitter much?

Who said there was a “cover up”? Nobody is disputing that Bendon and Brantley Gilbert contributed something, and that those contributions are worth commending. And all this talk about what I’m assuming and what the facts are, and here folks are assuming that I don’t give of my time or money for charity.

Im sorry but like other people have stated how much have you donated? Regardless of how that 10.5 million dollar number was reached who partnered with who to do so what actuall money exchanged hands if thats what your argument is about this time of year… your a shallow piece of shit who should spend more time donating his time to help others instead of trying to find something to bitch about. I’m a blue collar worker in jersey who lives pay check to pay but I still manage to donate 20 to 30 hours of my time every month to the American Leigon post 06 to help with thing like toys for tots this time of the year. I can’t afford to donate money but time is just as valuable. So take some of the time you wasted going back and forth about this and go donate it somewhere it’s needed cause it isn’t needed here.

I haven’t donated $10.5 million, that’s for sure. Because I don’t have that kind of money to donate. Neither does Brantley Gilbert. But I do donate and volunteer, and I’m not sure why folks are assuming I don’t. You don’t have to look any farther than this very page to see I have donated advertising space on this website to charity. It’s specifically because I do donate and volunteer that I find this ridiculous, and scandalous to attempt to commit fraud on the American public so troubling. YOU Wayncountry, as a volunteer, should be be should be just angry over this as anyone. Because it attempts to diminish everyone else’s efforts and put Brantley Gilbert on top. Before this, the biggest donation ever given by a country music artist was Taylor Swift. She donated $4 million to the Country Music Hall of Fame. Brantley Gilbert and Bendon bet that nobody would question if they said they donated $10.5 million, which is nearly three times the size of Swift’s donation. And they were right. Mostly.

How the hell do you know what the hell Brantley Gilbert has? You dont. So why don’t you save your breath and shut up. Do you really think Taylor Swift is worth more then Brantley Gilbert? All of the people like you that asume you know shit about celebrities have no clue. Stop talking trash haters. Leave it alone. It’s not bothering your petty ass life

Taylor Swift is estimated to be worth $280 million. Brantley Gilbert is estimated to be worth $10 million. The fact that I used an estimate of Gilbert’s worth has been used to refute this story by Gilbert fans, which only proves that they did not read past the headline, and truly believe Brantley Gilbert donated $10.5 million dollars. It’s idiocracy in action, and today we probably got another dozen new headlines saying the exact same thing from major periodicals.

I think many people have a hard time fathoming how much some entertainers make and even if they do they then can’t really put it in any kind of perspective. There are levels of wealth and I’m sure Brantley Gilbert is very well off but there are very few entertainers that could even consider giving $10.5 million to charity. For one thing unless you are super wealthy (Paul McCartney as an example) there is no guarantee that the good times will continue so to give away that much money would be insane from a long range planning perspective.

On another note I will never stop being amazed how the fans of some performers will absolutely defend them from any criticism or even questioning. There is no one no matter how much I like their music, acting or athletic ability that I would feel comfortable defending like some of these people do.

It also goes to show how little they know about the music industry and what an artist actually makes. Matter of fact most of them lose money. They may have a glamorous lifestyle but that all has to be paid for. It comes out of the labels pocket, and has to be paid back before they start making money. May get a bonus to start in the beginning of their contract. They have to live on that or other cash sponsorships.
Just general basic costs would be a million for each radio promo single that’s released. Maybe $300,000 for an album. Tour busses are not cheap, neither are musicians. Instruments and trailers. Gas to get to different gigs or flights. iTunes/Amazon has to get their 30% cut when it’s purchased on there. He gets a bigger royalty since he wrote a lot of the music he does.
Hasn’t been out that many years. Didn’t hear any of his work or CDs going even platinum. Quick search showed just as I am at 931k sold. Benefit of the doubt selling perhaps 5 million albums total. I would think even a net worth of $10 million is a stretch at the best of circumstances.

Well I suppose he may own some real estate which might add to his net worth but who knows I think those kind of estimations are just that, estimations, and should only be used as ballpark figures.

I would guess that there are very few country performers living right now that could realistically afford to donate such a huge some as $10.5 million because even the most successful entertainment types (and other wealthy people too) rarely have that much cash lying around as opposed to having their wealth tied up in non liquid investments. It’s just ridiculous for anyone to argue that the press release could possibly be accurate but I would certainly believe that he could have taken part in some way that facilitated the donation. But apparently that wasn’t a good enough deed for his PR people.

Nowadays nobody can call out anything even related to a charity without getting jumped on. Guess what, not questioning this kind of stuff is what allows shady practices to go on. In this case, at least it appears to be just shady, sensationalist “journalism”. Could be worse, but still dangerous. Thank you Trigger for always taking on the topics others would be too afraid to.

Look i dont care who the author is of this but you need to stop putting gilbert down and look at what you do for a living because i highly doubt you can even donate 500,000 to toy for tots. At least he donated money. I mean what are you doing with your life this Christmas season to make someones else’s better.

This story is still making the rounds and popping up on my Facebook feed. Apparently, the Atlanta Journal, an actual newspaper, picked it up. This is why its important for someone to keep a critical eye on these things.

So if Brantley Gilbert only gave $20,000, but tells everybody he gave $10.5 million, that’s a sign of “stand up character”? I would say that’s a sign of fraud. Again, I don’t particularly blame Brantley here, I blame his publicists and the idiotic outlets who are reporting this story. Who knows how much Brantley gave. I’d say there’s a chance he gave $0.00, and just had his name involved to draw more attention to the press release. So far, Toys For Tots has not confirmed Brantley gave anything.

his publicists never said he donated $10.5 million you idiot. you read the press release right? you’re ostensibly part of “the press” why don’t you post the press release that his publicist put out and let everyone judge for themselves.

I can’t believe all the Brantley apologists here who more or less say “yeah, maybe it wasn’t 10.5 million dollars but that’s not the point”.

Actually it IS the point. This story is about facts and one of them is Brantley beer muscles Gilbert did indeed NOT donate 10 million dollars to anybody. You can bitch and moan and whine and make this about something it isn’t all you want but the fact remains the same. I’m also sick of the “can’t take joy in anything” and “how dare you” comments. This is about accountability, grow the fuck up. And no, I will not be donating a damn thing to anyone this xmas or next so fuck off.

Hey Adam.
I agree that this story is about facts, so Trigger shouldn’t use his “Brantley probably donated $0.00” analogy. Or the “Brantley is worth $10M” so he can’t possibly raise 10.5.
I’m worth about 1M, maybe. If you include everything I own, my beautiful wife, and my life insurance policy.
But its possible for me to lend my services to a fund raiser and bring in major donors and raise hundreds of thousands for a cause. My net worth means nothing, and I can still be credited for making a large donation…
Sensationalism is at play here, from both sides.

But the press release headline was ‘Brantley Gilbert makes $10.5 million donation to Toys For Tots’. It didn’t say he ‘raised’ the money nor did it say that he had ‘lend’ his services for a fundraiser. It said he made a $10.5 million donation which is not the same thing at all. Maybe what you said is what happened but if it did in fact happen then Gilbert’s PR people should have said that because that would be a noble endeavor but by at best exaggerating and at worst outright lying about his involvement they have only opened him up to this type of criticism.

Ok since you are too cowardly to do it … I found the press release which shows in no uncertain terms that you are an attention seeking whore posing as some investigative journalist… Show us where it says that Brantley Gilbert donated $10.5 million dollars?
You are pathetic … You’re a bottom feeder and your wanna be Woodward and Bernstein act has been exposed. This whole thing back fired on you buddy .. even the Greek chorus of your 2 dozen loyal readers called you out and you panicked … Karma is a bitch

”‹Ashland, Ohio: Brantley Gilbert may be a hardcore songwriter/performer, but he understands what Christmas means to kids ”“ and how hard the holidays can be for families in transition. The Georgia-born and ”“raised Gilbert has also been an outspoken supporter of United States servicemen, so it should come as no surprise that as Christmas approaches, he”™s teamed with Toys for Tots and children”™s activity product producer Bendon, Incorporated for an unprecedented $10,500,000 donation this season.

”‹“Bendon”™s books include Batman, Superman, Clifford the Dog, Disney, Peanuts and My Little Pony,” says Gilbert. “And those are just a few of the books for children of all ages. Whether they”™re into Barbie or Stars Wars, there are coloring books, sticker books ”“ and even Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn. It”™s the kind of gift that”™s both fun and helps kids learn, and I”™m honored the folks at Bendon understood why I wanted to work with them for this donation to Toys for Tots. For some children, this may be most of or all the Christmas they”™ll have this year, and this gift helps them grow as well as play.”

”‹“The Holiday”™s are a tough period of time for many families, and if we are able to bring a little happiness to a child with a gift which they may not have been otherwise given, than that”™s a success,” agrees Bendon”™s Ben Ferguson. “We can not be more excited to partner with Brantley Gilbert on this donation. Brantley clearly supports and honors our Military and his generosity and charitable work prompted me to align Bendon’s donation with him to The Marine Toys For Tots foundation”

”‹Topping the charts this fall with “One Hell of an Amen,” celebrating the courage and life of a fallen Marine, Gilbert has made it a career point to support our troops. This holiday gift is an extension of that commitment, and also another way to give back.

”‹“They tell me this is one of the largest donations Toys for Tots has ever received,” Gilbert explains. “I could tell when we were talking about the importance of these gifts for the children who will be receiving them, Ben and his team realized the difference it could make in some very precious lives. It”™s giving back always, but especially during the holidays, that makes what we get to do so worthwhile”¦ and I am honored to be a part of this donation.”

They are upset because these pop country fans view calling bullshit on the validity of an article a personal attack on one of their idols. These people are so brainwashed to the point they will accept any article glossing their favorite stars as the Word of the Lord.

Of course, Brantley could put a stop to this by saying, “The reports that I have $10.5 million to Toys for Tots is completely unfounded. I gave x amount.” But being the attention whore Brantley is, I’m not going to hold my breath hoping.

You really think everyone’s programmed to flip out any time some blogger bitches about a singer? Sorry to break it to you Mike, but we live in the real world. You see, Music row doesn’t really control us as much as you’d like to think. I know, I’m one of the sheeple, blah blah blah.
No. Just stop and think for a second. OK, yes, I understand that mainstream country is more or less controlled by the execs. They have tremendous power over which bands/trends make it to the forefront, etc. I get it, and I think most people get it.
Then, we get to people like you. Do you really think that people are “brainwashed” to follow a singer like he’s a god?!?
Hell no. There’s not a “war on our minds”, Alex Jones. Music row might control what becomes popular, but 99% of people have a life that doesn’t revolve around mainstream radio (or conspiracy theories regarding the power of mainstream radio). No, the real reason people are so pissed is that Trigger’s being such an asshole about it all. I know, I don’t get it, it’s all the evil book company, Bernie 2016, etc, etc, etc.
Props for making me laugh though.

That’s a pretty shitty press release. “Brantley Gilbert Creates $10,500,000 Toys for Tots Donation” and “he”™s teamed with Toys for Tots and children”™s activity product producer Bendon, Incorporated for an unprecedented $10,500,000 donation this season” make it seem like they donated cash. I don’t see anywhere in the press release that explicitly states they donated books. Brantley’s quote mentions the type of books Bendon has, but that’s about as far as it goes. There is a big difference in donating 10.5 million dollars and donating 10.5 million dollars worth of books based on the heavily marked up retail cost. And what the hell is a “hardcore songwriter/performer”?

The title of the press release is “Brantley Gilbert Makes $10.5 Million Donation to Toys For Tots.” Period. That’s why some now 50 outlets have that EXACT, VERBATIM title to their story. That’s why DJ’s have told that to likely millions of radio listeners with no qualifiers. I explained in detail in the story above that the press release itself clarified the details of the donation. It was the entire basis for my argument. So to now attempt some 120 comments in to act like the actual text of the press release is some sort of bombshell or validation of anything is as stupefying as arguing that Brantley Gilbert is clearly more rich than Taylor Swift, and so would easily be in a position to donate $10.5 million. Even though he didn’t. And the press release even says he didn’t.

As much as folks are saying I’m making a molehill into a mountain, the continued defense of this stupid press release is turning this into Everest. I said my peace and was ready to move on. Gilbert’s camp could have clarified the details, and everyone would have moved on. Now all of a sudden we have to attack the credibility of the folks saying simply, “Hey, did Brantley REALLY give $10.5 million?” Fine then, we’ll keep digging until we find the true measure of Brantley’s donation, then will contrast that between what they said he donated.

What is the headline? “Brantley Gilbert Donates $10.5 million to Toys for Tots.”

But just for the sake of argument, forget whatever the title of the press release is. Let’s just say that you’re right, and I am lying to everyone, even though anyone can click on the link above and see the press release for themselves. Here’s a list of media outlets, not all of them mind you, just a sampling of 20, who have used the “Brantley Gilbert Donates $10.5 million to Toys for Tots” headline. So even if it wasn’t part of the original press release, and the press release states what YOU’RE claiming it does, it’s inconsequential, because THIS is what everyone is reporting.

How do you know? You don’t know that check out who really gets the bucks donated to unicef.. Or where all that girl scout cookie money goes

All I know is Johnny Waylon buck or Merle wouldn’t dream of putting “gauges” in their ears Brantley Dilbert Sam hunt and most the rest ain’t even close to country give me back real country music or get the hell back to pop I’m over it

Holy shit…I need a bottle of Jameson and 32 oz. glass after repeatedly reading Trigger defending himself. I love how some of you tried to spin this in a version of your choice to make him look like he didn’t include any facts in his article and subsequent posts. Looks like some of Brantley Gilbert’s family members have shown up on SCM, Trig!!!! Keep doing what you’re doing, man and hope you had a nice Christmas!!!!

Your article says he is worth about 10 mil… From a source published in OCT…probably from the previous quaters income…probably dosent even include what he earned from July through December…his earning from shows…merchandise… Royalties on Jason Aldeans highest selling song Dirt Road Anthem…plus all of the songs he sing himself…of course he is worth well over 10 million at the time this article was written……doesn’t take a genius to know that..he lives less than 20 miles from me..He doesn’t live in a multi million dollar home outside of Nashville…he doesn’t blow his money on stuff he doesn’t need….he has always supported the military and children’s organizations..

To argue Brantley Gilbert is worth over 10 million dollars is to argrue that he actually donated the amount they said, which is imbecile because even they aren’t saying he donated $10.5 million. They’re saying $10.5 million in BOOKS was donated. What was Brantley Gilbert’s involvement? Nobody knows. I think there’s a strong chance he didn’t donate anything. He was just a celebrity name attached to the donation to create press interest.